What Is The Rental Process?

You may think it is pretty easy to rent your home for yourself. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Getting The Home Ready To Rent

Properly preparing a house for rental will help you to command a better rent, and it also helps to protect the house. When prospective tenants see a neat, clean house that is in good repair you set the expectation that they should also take care of it. If you haven't already moved out, the preparations to rent it will also make it easier when moving day arrives. In the meantime, it'll be fresh and pleasant to live in.

Advertising The Home

There are many aspects that you need to know about how to advertise your house for rent; Taking pictures from outdoors and different rooms indoors. Prepare a description of the home and surrounding area to advertise in various online advertising sites like Zillow, Craigslist, and REALTOR multiple listings. Make sure you are following the various housing laws. Never discriminate. Be prepared to quote a rent for the home.

Showing The Home

Do not underestimate "curb appeal." If the exterior of your dwelling looks dilapidated, the chances of getting new tenants are pretty low. Make sure that your property is well painted and inviting. Check ahead of time to make sure that they meet your approval. Know your selling points. Set the temperature ahead of time to make sure it is comfortable. Be prepared to hand over your form of lease and rental application. Make sure you have decided what security deposit, key deposit, or pet deposit you will impose.

Screening The Tenants

Renting your property to a tenant is a little like marriage. You're entering into a legal agreement that might not be easy to get out of if you find that you just don't get along. Unlike a marriage, landlords don't have the luxury of really getting to know someone before they offer a lease. Here are some simple steps: 1] If you don't allow pets get it out of the way quickly, 2] Complete a tenant application, 3] Confirm the tenant’s information, 3] Make a personal judgment and 4] Make sure you keep an accurate record of those you have rejected and why.

Coordinating The Move In

Whether you are a landlord or tenant, conducting a property inspection before the lease begins is essential. A move in checklist is required for rental properties, as a written record of the property's condition before move in is required. This is important for two reasons: 1] It's proof that you delivered the property to the tenant in a habitable condition that meets the local health and safety codes and 2] making security deposit deductions for property damages. Tenants are never pleased when you make claims on their security deposits.

What's Involved During The Rental Period?'

A professional property management company can save you a lot of time and stress. They deal primarily with rent collection, property maintenance, oversight and the move-out of tenants during the rental period. A management company can be beneficial especially if you don't live close to your properties. If you are looking for peace of mind this is your best solution.

Quarterly Home Inspections

Everyone knows it’s important to do a pre-leasing inspection and a move-out inspection but rarely do property management companies perform quarterly inspections.

This is equally important to ensure the tenant is maintaining the property in good repair and cleanliness and is not in violation of any lease provisions. This should be a though inspection detailing the exterior and interior condition of the home, appliances and HVAC systems.

Tenant Work & Service Requests

Here are seven tips to selecting a vendor;

1] Get a referral from someone who has used the contractor before,

2] hire a vendor or contractor that specializes in the service you need,

3] Check licenses and insurance,

4] Get at least three references,

5] Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if all complaints have been resolved,

7] Always get a written contract that spell out what work is to be performed, the time period over which it is to be performed and the cost.

Rent Collection

If you own or manage rental property and are responsible for collecting rent from tenants, there will be times when you will have to deal with rent being late.

It is important to be consistent in your actions when dealing with the collection of rent.

This process must be implemented early on and involves the sending of notices and charging late fees. If collection efforts prove unsuccessful, the eviction process will be implemented, which requires strict adherence to the law.

Move Outs

While most tenants are aware that they need to repair all damages caused by improper use and negligence, not as many know that they're also responsible for cleaning up the property as well.

While landlords are allowed to make security deposit deductions for extensive or professional cleaning expenses, it's going to save a lot of trouble if tenants can do it themselves.

When inspecting your property for cleanliness, take the opportunity to check for damages as well.

What Are The Rental Risks?

Renting your house out can be a fun and profitable venture.

But just like any business endeavor, becoming a landlord carries some risks.

You’re entrusting a major asset—your home—to people whom you likely don’t know well, and who are not nearly as invested in its maintenance as you are.

This is one major reason many new landlords, or real estate investors who are not planning to make a career out of managing their own rental properties, choose to hire professional property managers.

Fair Housing

Property owners and managers are subject to the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits "any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make such preference, limitation or discrimination."

Someone seeking to rent an apartment, home or condo, has the right to expect that home and will be available without discrimination or other limitations based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

Insurance Liability

Regardless of how safe and secure your rental property may be, and how much you plan and prepare for emergencies, you still must maintain adequate general liability insurance coverage on your rental property in order to help reduce your risk and limit your personal liability as a landlord.

In addition to general liability insurance, you may want to purchase a personal or commercial umbrella insurance policy to give you added liability coverage.

Lease Violations

Aside from damaging the property, tenants can cause difficulties by paying late, refusing to pay, or violating the terms of their lease agreement.

As with damage, this may be caused by an accident or one-time oversight, or be part of a pattern of behavior in which people attempt to avoid paying what they owe.

They could bring in a pet after agreeing not to, fail to mow the lawn and perform similar maintenance tasks. Tenant default may be the most serious risk, since it means a drain on the owner’s financial resources to pay the mortgage, property taxes and other expenses.

Financial Risks

The rental prices tenants are willing to pay will depend on market conditions and the state of the home, and they will fluctuate.

If the area becomes more desirable, housing grows scarce or the property is particularly well kept and appealing, then rents may be go up.

Market changes can be unpredictable, however, and there is always a risk that rents will drop, making the home less profitable. Setting rents too high can drive away tenants, while setting them too low cuts profits, making it a difficult task.

Why Always Home?

We will assist you with every aspect of managing your property while maximizing your cash flow.

Not only are we a licensed real estate company but the CEO & founder is a licensed home inspector and community association manager.

Mr. McCarthy is a graduate of the Sarasota County Sheriffs Department Civilian Law Enforcement Academy, a graduate engineer and holds an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. We are qualified to manage your property professionally. We are veteran owned & operated.

Property Care

Contractor selection is difficult due to lack of local knowledge and supervision is impossible if you are out of market most of the year. Everything takes twice the time, trying to coordinate everything remotely.

The anxiety created from trying to select and supervise contractors remotely [often overseas] negatively impacts our peace of mind and adds to our day-to-day hassles.

Someone needs to be your key holder and perform your home watch inspections, monitor contractor performance and supervise a network of service providers. You need to be assured that your service providers are the most qualified in your area and at the best price.

Trusted Team of Vendors

You can’t do this alone. It may be a cliché but it takes a team. You need to personally need to select each of your service providers; based on their capabilities, service reputation, commitment to training, excellence and the value they deliver to their clients.

Rarely do other management companies disclose the names of their service providers.... Often because they are not bonded, licensed or insured. They are selected because they are cheap. You should personally know the owners and many the technicians who work on your home as we do. They have been operating in your county for decades. Whether you are a resident or property investor we hope you appreciate the need to support your local community and its locally owned and operated business owners and their employees.

State-Of-The-Art Technology

Are you a landlord who owns and manages one rental unit, several units or has a larger portfolio of rental units and properties? Whether it’s one unit or 25, systems integration can help you manage your rental properties more effectively and fill vacancies faster with an easy-to-use, easy-to-install online rental property management software.

With features like self-service customer portals, powerful accounting and advanced marketing, you’ll not only save time and increase productivity, but also reduce costs. Property management systems help manage tenants, leases, contracts, documents, vendors and more. Rental software is needed today to streamline property management and take care of your tenants.